For about USD15 a person, you can get on an air-conditioned bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. It takes about 6 hours, with a stop for lunch. I had 4 days to visit the city, which was about right.
They said that the name Phnom Penh was based on a story about an old woman named Penh, who found four Buddha images that had come to rest on the banks of the Mekong. She housed them on a nearby hill, and the town that emerged around the hill came to be known as Phnom Penh – the Hill of Penh. But there was no legend neither there was a clue as to why Angkor was abandoned in the 1440s and Phnom Penh chosen as the site of the new Cambodian capital.
Phnom Penh sits at the confluence of the Mekong River, the Bassac River and the Tonle Sap River. Major boulevards run north-south, parallel to the banks of the Tonle Sap and Brassac rivers.
My first day, as usual, was to explore the city, and looked for location of restaurants nearby which hotel. Most hotels and many restaurants are located at the riverfront, and there is a jogging or walking track runs parallel to the river. There are also several Muslim eating places near the mosque area, besides quite a few Thai and authentic south and north Indian restaurants scattered all over the city.
Restaurants at the riverfront offer numerous choices, be it French, Italian and other western cuisines. Several good hotels are also situated here.
Must see places in Phnom Penh:
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
Phnom Penh sits at the confluence of the Mekong River, the Bassac River and the Tonle Sap River. Major boulevards run north-south, parallel to the banks of the Tonle Sap and Brassac rivers.
My first day, as usual, was to explore the city, and looked for location of restaurants nearby which hotel. Most hotels and many restaurants are located at the riverfront, and there is a jogging or walking track runs parallel to the river. There are also several Muslim eating places near the mosque area, besides quite a few Thai and authentic south and north Indian restaurants scattered all over the city.
Restaurants at the riverfront offer numerous choices, be it French, Italian and other western cuisines. Several good hotels are also situated here.
Must see places in Phnom Penh:
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum
Prior to 1975, Tuol Sleng was a high school. When the Khmer Rouge came to power, it was converted into the Security Prison 21 (S-21) and interrogation facility. Inmates were systematically tortured, sometimes over a period of months, to get confessions, after which they were executed at the killing fields of Choeung Ek. S-21 “processed” over 17,000 people. When Phnom Penh was liberated by the Vietnamese army in early 1979, they found only seven prisoners alive at S-21. Fourteen others had been tortured to death as Vietnamese forces were closing in on the city. Photographs of their gruesome deaths are on display in the rooms where their decomposing corpses were found. Their graves are nearby in the courtyard. As now, I don’t know how many are still alive to testify on the case against Khmer Rouge. The unfinished investigation has taken years and the trial finally began on 16 February 2009, 30 years after the fall of the Communist Khmer Rouge. One of the former Khmer Rouge leaders called "Duch" was called on the first day of the trial. He has, apparently turned into a 'born again Christian' and had been behind bar since 1999. At least 4 more other most senior ex-Khmer Rouge members will be called to testify in this "crime against humanity" that has caused 1.7 million deaths. Just don't know when it will end. Keep reading...(this information is dated today, 17 February 2009)
The building now serves as a museum, a memorial and a testament to the madness and cruelty of the Khmer Rouge regime. Much has been left in the state it was when the Khmer Rouge abandoned it in January 1979. Like the Nazis, the Khmer Rouge was meticulous in keeping records of their barbarism. Each prisoner who passed through S-21 was photographed, sometimes before and after tortured. The museum displays include room after room in which such photographs of men, women and children cover the walls from floor to ceiling; virtually all the people pictured were later killed. You can tell in what year picture was taken by the style of number board that appears on the prisoner’s chest. Several foreigners from Australia, France and the USA were held here before being murdered. The prison kept extensive records, leaving thousands of photos of their victims, many of which are on display.
From April 17, 1975 until January 7, 1979, the ultra-Communist Khmer Rouge regime led by Pol Pot, controlled the whole of Cambodia. Under the Khmer Rouge, the country was known as “Democratic Kampuchea.” During that short regime, between one million and two and a half million Cambodians were perished, including educated and high ranking government officials prior to the regime. Some were killed outright, others dying of diseases, malnutrition, neglect and ill-treatments. Many of the dead ended up in a various “killing fields” that can be found scattered across the country. The killing fields were essentially ad hoc places of execution and dumping grounds for dead bodies. The memorial at Choeung Ek, located just outside Phnom Penh was longan orchard and a Chinese cemetery prior to 1975. During the Khmer Rouge regime, it became one of the brutal executions of more than 17,000 men, women, and children, most of whom first suffered through interrogation, torture and deprivation in the in the S-21 Prison (Tu0l Sleng) in Phnom Penh.
The building now serves as a museum, a memorial and a testament to the madness and cruelty of the Khmer Rouge regime. Much has been left in the state it was when the Khmer Rouge abandoned it in January 1979. Like the Nazis, the Khmer Rouge was meticulous in keeping records of their barbarism. Each prisoner who passed through S-21 was photographed, sometimes before and after tortured. The museum displays include room after room in which such photographs of men, women and children cover the walls from floor to ceiling; virtually all the people pictured were later killed. You can tell in what year picture was taken by the style of number board that appears on the prisoner’s chest. Several foreigners from Australia, France and the USA were held here before being murdered. The prison kept extensive records, leaving thousands of photos of their victims, many of which are on display.
As the Khmer Rouge ‘revolution’ reached ever greater heights of insanity, it began devouring its own children. Generations of torturers and executioners who worked here killed their predecessors and were in turn killed by those who took their places. During the first part of 1977, S-21 claimed an average of 100 victims a day.
Paintings of torture to the prison by Vann Nath, a survivor of Tuol Sleng, are also exhibited. The museum’s famous but controversial skull map has been dismantled and no longer on display.
A visit to Tuol Sleng could be a depressing experience. There is something about the sheer ordinariness of the place that make it even more horrific – the urban setting, the plain school buildings, the grassy playing area where several children kick around a ball, rusted bed, instruments of torture and wall after wall of harrowing black and white portraits conjure up images of humanity at its worst. Tuol Sleng is not likely for the squeamish.
Choeung Ek Memorial (The Killing Fields)
Paintings of torture to the prison by Vann Nath, a survivor of Tuol Sleng, are also exhibited. The museum’s famous but controversial skull map has been dismantled and no longer on display.
A visit to Tuol Sleng could be a depressing experience. There is something about the sheer ordinariness of the place that make it even more horrific – the urban setting, the plain school buildings, the grassy playing area where several children kick around a ball, rusted bed, instruments of torture and wall after wall of harrowing black and white portraits conjure up images of humanity at its worst. Tuol Sleng is not likely for the squeamish.
Choeung Ek Memorial (The Killing Fields)
From April 17, 1975 until January 7, 1979, the ultra-Communist Khmer Rouge regime led by Pol Pot, controlled the whole of Cambodia. Under the Khmer Rouge, the country was known as “Democratic Kampuchea.” During that short regime, between one million and two and a half million Cambodians were perished, including educated and high ranking government officials prior to the regime. Some were killed outright, others dying of diseases, malnutrition, neglect and ill-treatments. Many of the dead ended up in a various “killing fields” that can be found scattered across the country. The killing fields were essentially ad hoc places of execution and dumping grounds for dead bodies. The memorial at Choeung Ek, located just outside Phnom Penh was longan orchard and a Chinese cemetery prior to 1975. During the Khmer Rouge regime, it became one of the brutal executions of more than 17,000 men, women, and children, most of whom first suffered through interrogation, torture and deprivation in the in the S-21 Prison (Tu0l Sleng) in Phnom Penh.
The remains of 8,985 people, many of whom were bound and blindfolded, were exhumed in 1980 from mass graves, and apparently, 43 of the 129 communal graves here have been left untouched. Fragments of human bone and bits of cloth are scattered around the disinterred pits. Over 8,000 skulls, arranged by sex and age, are visible behind the clear glass panels of the Memorial Stupa, which was erected in 1988.
The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek is about a 30 minutes drive from the centre of Phnom Penh. If you do visit both Choeung Ek and Tuol Sleng, you would be able to understand a bit more on what had taken place during that period.
The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek is about a 30 minutes drive from the centre of Phnom Penh. If you do visit both Choeung Ek and Tuol Sleng, you would be able to understand a bit more on what had taken place during that period.
Other places to visit include:
The distinctive rust-red National Museum next to the Royal Palace was dedicated by King Sisowath in 1920. Over 5,000 objects are on display including Angkorian era statues, lingas and other artifacts. Make more sense to visit the Museum after you have visited Angkor.
A stroll along the park lined riverfront is a must, and stop at your choice of pubs or restaurants. Stay at one of the hotels situated in the area will be a good idea, too.
Both the Russian Market and Old Market are worth exploring but eating there, like many markets in South East Asia, would only be for the adventurous eaters or if you are familiar with the local hawkers' food
The distinctive rust-red National Museum next to the Royal Palace was dedicated by King Sisowath in 1920. Over 5,000 objects are on display including Angkorian era statues, lingas and other artifacts. Make more sense to visit the Museum after you have visited Angkor.
A stroll along the park lined riverfront is a must, and stop at your choice of pubs or restaurants. Stay at one of the hotels situated in the area will be a good idea, too.
Both the Russian Market and Old Market are worth exploring but eating there, like many markets in South East Asia, would only be for the adventurous eaters or if you are familiar with the local hawkers' food
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